Method of packaging wire



July 21, 1959 v E. J. HUBBARD METHOD oF PACKAGING WIRE Filed OG'C. 19, 1955 f dito United States PatentOr METHOD oF PACKAGING WIRE l L 1 'application october 19, 1955, serial No. 541,353

5 claims. (c1. zii- 72) The present invention relates to the art of packaging and is, more particularly, concerned with a novel and substantially improved method of packaging wire or the like. Y For many years it has been the habit of Ithe wire in- 'tlustry .to transport wire, either during various stages of the manufacture thereof or to the ultimate consumer, wound upon spools or, alternatively, coiled loosely. Recently, however, an additional methodI of transporting wire,v comprising the coiling thereof 'within a cylindrical container in a loose fashion has been' adopted. This recent method has several important advantages over the o ld techniques of coiling the'wire about an` arbor, including the elimination of` stresses on the wire andI the spool resulting from shrinkagev ofthe wire upon ,cooling subsequent to the winding operation. However, the loose coiling of the wire in an open ended cylindrical container poses a problem in wire twist since the wire is inserted and removed from the cylinder from -a direction generally axial of the cylinder rather than tangential as inthe case of the former winding techniques. As a result, wire lcoiled loosely in a cylindrical container has a tendency to` come out of the lcontainer with a permanent set resultingfrom the initial deflection of the wire from the axial condition to a coil lying generally perpendicular to the axis of wire introduction. In practice, it ha'sbeen found that this twist in the wire causes much dilliculty in the subsequent utilization of the wire since the wire tends to retain a helical coil shape when removed from the container axially, This helical coil shape will, of course, interfere with the freadyA utilization of the wire in automatic wire feeding machineryand it has been found that even if the wire is stretchedto a` condition in which it is substantially straight, a 'twist will havev been placed ,in the wire causing it to cause trouble in automatic feeding machinery -or, subsequent' drawing operations. The present Vinvention is concerned with the provision of Aa novel method yof packaging wire in a loosecondition without imparting a disadvantageous twist toA it. As a result of the method hereinafter'set forth, wire may be packaged in a loose fashion, thereby retaining all of the advantages of the loose coiling technique without at the same time incurring the disadvantages of4 twisting heretofore encountered. M

In accordance with the present invention, wire is packaged'in a ligure 8 pattern Vinstead of in a generally circular pattern. In so doing, wire introduced from an open end of the 'container to the bottom thereofand laid in a ligure 8 lying in a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of introduction. `Consecutive figure 8 loops ,ofi the wire may be positioned immediately above the preceding loop or, alternatively," succeeding loops may be transposed slightly laterally to permit more compact packaging. By laying the wire in the figure 8 pattern itis sequentially twisted in opposite directions. Thus, in Vforming the upper loop'of the figure 8 the wire is twisted in one l directionl and in the forming of the -lower 2,895,210 Patented July 21, 19,59

ice

loop of the `figure 8 the direction of twist is reversed. Accordingly, while some twist is necessarily introduced into the Wire, the twist alternates in direction such that when the wire is axially removed from the same direcf 4tion-in which it was introduced into the container, it will stretch out without any apparent .twisting tendency. lt has been found that this freedom from continuous twist permits the effective use of the wire for -all normal purposes and, further, prevents snarls and tangles from oc curring in the wire as it is withdrawn from the container'. It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of packaging wire. i

Another object of the present invention is to ,provide a novel method of loosely coiling wire without providing a continuousunidirectional twist therein. A

A further object of the present invention is Ito provide a method of coiling wire or the like in rectangular containers.'

A feature of the present invention is'the provision of a method of packaging wire in which the wire is laid in sequential figure 8 loops.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a method of packaging wire wherein thewire may be placed in either a cylindrical or a rectangular container. 4-

Still other and further objects and features of uthe' present invention will at once become apparent-to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the attached drawings wherein several embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustration only,r and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a container illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, in cross section, of the container shown in Figure 1 and taken along the line II--II thereof;

Figure 3 is a plan'view of a container and wire illustrating a second modified form of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a circular container illustrating still a further embodiment of the method of the present invention; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of still a further illustration of the method of the present invention.

As shown on the drawings: t

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, a length of wire or the like 10 is shown being positioned in a container of rectangular configuration having side walls 11, 12, 13, 14 and a bottom surface 15. As may be seen, the wire 10 is introduced at the open top of the container and is coiled in the form of an overlapping figure 8 pattern illustrated generally at 16 in Figure 1. In initiating the packing of the wire 10, the end 10a of the wire is positioned approximately in the position shown in Figure 1 and may, if desired, be secured to a vertical guide bar 17 to assure that the initial coils of wire stay in place.V After placing of the end 10a, the. wire is coiled in a generally counterclock wise extending loop 10b returning to a point Y10c adjacent to but somewhat laterally removed from the point 10a at which point the lower half ofthe loop 10d is formed in the generally clockwise direction and ending at a point 10e crossing the point 10c and corresponding to the initial point 10a. From the point 10e a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc., figure 8 loops are formed, each substantially but not completely overlapping the preceding loop until the loops touch the side wall 13 at which point a second layer of loops is initiated by merely continuing the figure 8 coiling back toward the left as view in Figure 1.

As may beV seen from Figure 2, the wire 10 is necessarily bent somewhat at 10j during the packing operation, in` order` to placeit in the, generally .horizontalplu from 'a substantially vertical position. However, in view ofthe fa'ctthat the upper and lower loops of each iigure 8 loop are twisted in reverse directions, it has been found that thewire 10 may be removed vertically from the container without any danger of kinking, coiling or snarling.

The guide bars 17 and 18 are positioned on the respective container walls 11 and 13 merely to locate the initial and ending loop vof each layer and, if desired, to provide a position of attachment for the end 10a of the wire initiating the packaging operation. It will be understood, however, that the guides 17 and 18 may be eliminated Vif desired without seriously impairing the packaging operation.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure I3 a rectangular container having side walls 11, 13, 12a,14a and a bottomrwall 15a is illustrated. The side walls 12a and 14a arey constructed to contain only a single loop of wire 10 in each layer and the guide members 17 and 18 operate to maintain the successive stacked loops in substantially fixed position for transportation under hazardous contions. While the container shown in Figure 3 provides somewhat more control for the positioning of the individual loops it does not provide as eflicient and compact nesting of the loops since each cross-over between upper and lower loops rests substantially over the crossover of the loops thereunder whereas in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 the cross-over points are staggered thereby permitting a certain degree of nesting. Further, of course, in the embodiments shown in Figure 3, lateral movement of the loops is permitted by the end walls 11 and y13 whereas this support is provided only for the end loops of each layer in the packaging unit illustrated in Figure l.

It will, of course, be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the use of the figure 8 looping arrangement above discussed lends itself admirably to packaging in rectangular containers. However, wire may be ,stacked satisfactorily in a large cylindrical container if desired. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the wire 10 may be packed .fin afcontainer 20 having a cylindrical outer Wall 21 and a at bottom wall 22 by looping the wire in ligure 8 loops positioned between a vertical center post 23 and the outer container wall 21. As the wire 10 is looped, the outermost loop is continually transposed slightly to provide less overlap at the outer periphery of the container than at the inner periphery thereof. This arrangement permits some overlapping of every loop, thereby providing a uniform layer and at the same time permits :stacking of the wire in a somewhat circular pattern. Since the individual loops are in each case reversely twisted about a radius of curvature substantially smaller lthan the curvature of the cylindrical container 20., the vvery :slight over-all twist provided by packaging the wire in such a container is negligible and has been found linsujiciently great to interfere vwith the use 'oflthe wire subsequent to such packaging.

,'InJFigure 5 :still a further embodiment of the method of the present `invention is shown in conjunction with a rectangular box identical with that illustrated in Figure 1 and having side walls r11, 12, 13, 14 and a bottom wall .15. The wire l is coiled without any loop overlap, however, yby initiating :the first loop 1a in a counterclockwise-direction from the point a, crossing the top loop portion fat' 10g-forming a bottom loop lib, crossing the bottom loop 'at 10h `and continuing with a second loop Z'LL-fafthird loop 3a `and soforth each of which loops is positioned -next to but not overlapping theA preceding loop. In `t'liis' embodiment, the vwire lays -substantially completely'fla't in each vlayer with the exception of the loop crossover points such Vas at 10g and 10h. While it is clear that fewer loops may be packed on each layer, a greater -nurnber of layers may beprovided. Further, `by positioning-.eachsuccessive loop next to but not in overleppingn'elationiitothe .preceding loop, each of the loops is positioned between the preceding and succeeding loop thereby providing lateral stability much in the same way as is provided by the closely spaced side walls 11 and 13 shown in Figure 3. In either case, in view of the reverse direction of formation of the upper and lower halves of each figure 8 loop, no over-all continuous twist is provided in the wire and snarling and undesired helical coiling tendencies are eliminated from wire so packaged.

It will be understood that various means may be utilized for handling the wire in the coiling operation. While machinery may be used it will, of course, be of relatively complex nature and forms an invention separate from the method herein disclosed. It will, however, be evident that the method of packaging hereinabove set forth may be readily acconlplished by hand merely by feeding the wire 10 downwardly in the container by hand and deflecting it into the ligure 8 pattern manually. It will be understood, therefore, that I have provided a novel and substantially improved method of packaging wire which prevents the development of continuous twist in the wire and which permits the ready unpackaging of the wire without encountering problems caused by such continuous twist, such as for example, snarling, kinking and tanglinvg. I t will also be understood that variations may he made in the method hereinabove set forth without departing from the scope ofthe novel concepts thereof and, accordingly, lit is 1my* intention that the scope of ythe Present invention be limited solely by .that Of the hereinafter appended claims.

YI claim as my invention:

1. VThe lmethod of packing a strand of wire which comprises coiling the strand from an overhead position into successive superimpsed Afigure 8 yloops having laterally spaced substantially horizontal loop halves formed with an opposite twist .as the strand is placed in a substantially horizontal plane from a generally vertical direction.

2. The method of packaging wire in a generally rectangular box comprising the steps of placing one end of said wire `on the bottom of Vthe box, looping said wire into a loop extending against a first side wall of said box, reversely looping the wire backwardly against a second side wall extending substantially ,parallel to the first `side wall forming arcomplete figure 8 loop, reversely looping the wire'backwardly again to cross over the previously laid wire to form a ,second loop superimposed on top of and against said first loop Vand continuing to form such loops until the container is full.

3. The method of .packaging wire in a generally rectangular box vcomprising the steps of placing one end of said wireonthe bottom of the box adjacent the mid point of Vone -of the boxside walls, looping said wire into a loop extending against a second side wall of said box perpendicular to the `first wall, Vreversely looping the wire backwardly against a third wall extending substantially parallel to fthe second Wall to forma complete gure 8 loop, reversely looping ,the wire backwardly again to cross over thepreviously laid wire yto form a second loop against said second wall and continuing to form such loops m'oving-progressively toward `agfourth wall until the bottom lof the box is covered andthe fourth side wall is reached and then ',-procee'ding with an overlying layer of gure 8s extending from said fourth side wall back to said first side Wall and having the long axis of each successive figure 8 loop-extending substantially parallel to the long axis of the figure loops in the first layer. Y

4. Thermethod of packaging wire in a generally rectangular boxcornprising' Athe stepsof placing one end of said wireon the bottom of the box, looping said wire into a loop `extending .against a rst side wall of said box, reverselylloopingthe wire backwardly against a second sfide wallextending substantially-parallel tothe -nrst side wall forming a `corn-plete iigure 8 loop, reversely looping the wire backwardly again to cross over the previously laid wire to formga second ,loop against said first loop and continuing zto 'form suchloops luntilthe container is full, successive i-gure 8 loops in each layer being laid side by side to eliminate overlapping except at the point of wire cross over.

5. The method of packaging wire in a generally reccontinuing to form such loops until the container is full, the successive gure 8 loops in each layer being laid in only partially overlapping relation to each other so that the points of wire cross over are laterally staggered less tangular box comprising the steps of placing one end of 5 than the width of any `one individual gure 8 loop.

said Wire on the bottom of the box, looping said wire into a loop extending against a first side wall of said box, reversely looping the wire backwardly against a second side wall extending substantially parallel to the first side wall forming a complete ligure 8 loop, reversely looping the wire backwardly again to cross over the previously laid Wire to form a second loop against said irst loop and References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

